A message for the young(ish)engineers out there. Have you joined a PN? Do you like the look and feel of it, and if so, would you find it useful to have a network area aimed at the younger end of the IEE membership? What information would you like on there?
Yep, I have joined a few PN's. Can I just ask a very bold question? Who designed this site and were any member's requested for feedback on what to include on your website? The site is very badly laid out in relation to the information one requires should never be more than three clicks away and on this site you are going around in circles. There is no PN professional groups for information technology professionals other than communications and networks that do not cover all levels of IT since IT is not just communications and networks.
I have just started a MPHIL in:
"The Future of VPN's (Virtual Private Networks) and the convergence of heterogeneous computer networks to be controlled via the Internet with built in intelligent self healing capabilities".
My research revolves around the theory that the Internet or the Future Internet will evolve to a stage where there will be no need for companies and businesses to establish their own computer networks such as Ethernet and token ring. VPN technology, albeit, in its infancy will eventually reach a stage whereby the Internet will become the defacto standard to interconnect business LAN's (Local area networks) WAN's (Wide area networks) and MAN's (Metropolitan area networks).
TCP/IP has already become the defacto standard for the delivery of network packets. It is a guaranteed delivery protocol and informs the sender if the packets cannot be delivered for whatever reason. However, it does not report back the exact point of failure. This is where the failure of modern IP based networks is noticeable. There is virtually no built in intelligence that tries to forward these packets or tries to circumvent problems encountered. Future networks will require this built in intelligence to be present to not only avoid and circumvent navigation but intelligently (using fuzzy logic algorithms, AI etc) ensure delivery and report back to the network manager when a failure occurs. This report must be able to contain the exact point of failure. At present, if a failure on the network occurs it is a laborious task to underpin the point of failure eg: Is it the hub, switch, Network card, computer, port on the hub, switch etc.
I require your assistance to place me in touch with people or organisations who are conducting research into similar areas of networks.
I have not been able to locate anything in the library archive by conducting a search on VPN or Virtual private networks.
Regards,
M.Ahmed ____________________________ ITFINDIT Ltd, “Harrow House”, 24 Harrow Road, Newport, South Wales NP19 OBT United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1633-762150 Fax: +44 (0)1633-762117 Company No: 3906788 Our e-commerce site http://www.itfindit.co.uk Free IT Support http://www.itfindit.com E-mail: ahmed@itfindit.com
Glad to see that you have joined a few PNs but a little concerned to see the comments regarding the web site.
A large market research exercise was undertaken before the web site design was finalised. The target audience included non-members as well as members. From this research the page design was agreed and put forward as the standard. If you have any detailed comments on the design then either post them on this Group and I will pass them on or, alternatively, post them on the 'Your Feedback' discussion group where a member of the IEE staff will respond.
Refering back to Katherine's email, do you think it is a good idea to have an area for Youngish Engineers to spread information? If so what information would you like to see discussed? I take it from your posting, you would like to see an area where technology discussions and questions can be asked? Do you agree?
As for PNs to fulfil your every need - there is only one PN in the next batch to be launched that may come close to being suitable. This PN is the Embedded Real-Time Systems. If this is not suitable, and the PNs already launched are not suitable then can I ask you to suggest a possible subject for a PN to meet your current need. This can then be taken forward to the powers that be and there may be a new PN in the future....
Glad to see that you have joined a few PNs but a little concerned to see the comments regarding the web site.
No need to be concerned, this is our website and we still have the capacity to update this site as we see fit.
A large market research exercise was undertaken before the web site design was finalised. The target audience included non-members as well as members. From this research the page design was agreed and put forward as the standard. If you have any detailed comments on the design then either post them on this Group and I will pass them on or, alternatively, post them on the 'Your Feedback' discussion group where a member of the IEE staff will respond.
Yes, definitely, I do not have enough time this week but I will try and put forward some suggestions for improvement next week.
Refering back to Katherine's email, do you think it is a good idea to have an area for Youngish Engineers to spread information? If so what information would you like to see discussed? I take it from your posting, you would like to see an area where technology discussions and questions can be asked? Do you agree?
Yes, definitely a good idea but how does one know one's age on the Internet? I am 80. Yes, again I think there is a requirement to encourage IT people like myself to utilise the IEE discussion forums for assistance with everyday IT related probs, lets say for IT administrators etc. Currently, it is viewed by many of us ITers as just an organistaion that we should apply to become AMIEE & Ceng accredited without any scope for approach for advice and assistance on IT related matters etc
As for PNs to fulfil your every need - there is only one PN in the next batch to be launched that may come close to being suitable. This PN is the Embedded Real-Time Systems. If this is not suitable, and the PNs already launched are not suitable then can I ask you to suggest a possible subject for a PN to meet your current need. This can then be taken forward to the powers that be and there may be a new PN in the future....
Good idea, I will do just that. Thanks for the prompt reply.
1) M.Ahmed.. VPNs... try the Telecoms Professional Network, there you may well find some data regarding that topic since it is of interest to them. They will likely be able to point you in the right direction on any research you are doing MPhil.
Thanks for the feedback, I have had some sucess from one of the networks, I have not tried the telecoms Pro NW so will give that a whirl. I am also attending a lecture this Thursday (18th)on the high performance internet routers at the IEE, so, things are moving. Thanks.
2) State of the site.. inclined to believe that whilst, yes, this is bodly different from the previous site, and that no, it doesn't always conform to the "3 Click" rule, it is a better site than that which it replaced. Personally I am delighted to see that the IEE takes the Internet quite so seriously as a research tool as well as a comms tool. I don't actually believe the "3 Click" Rule is possible on a lot of sites despite what the so called Web guru's claim..
Yes, and I will agree with your opinion that the "3 click rule" does not always apply. Can you imagine what would happen if I proposed a 10 click rule on the IEE site? This was just as a guideline. I do agree that the new site is a step in the right direction but there is always room for improvement and that is where the likes of you and me, step in. Positive criticism is good as long as something constructive is done from that criticism.
3) A P/N for the younger memebers.. I suppose, yes, one area would be quite good.. I'm 28 and I still find it a little intimidating asking questions in the P/Ns I subscribe to as everyone 'appears' to be vastly older (probably just my paranoid imagination) and more experienced. A P/N where the younger engineers (under 30.. under 25??????) could discuss issues.. say work related stuff... might be useful.. gets my thumbs up..
again, I started the discussion in the younger member areas because nobody else had. Again you are quite right, what is the threshold for "Young". I knew I was too old at 33! ***.
Yes I've joined a PN. I work in Canada and the nearest source of IEE information is thousands of km away... I think a younger PN could be very useful. I'd like to now apply for Member/CEng status, but there's no-one around to offer advice. For someone like me who hasnt worked for a company with an accredited training scheme or followed a typical career so far, advice is hard to find.
Yes, some of the PN's are very proactive in getting youngish engineers involved, some even have included them on their executive teams, and it's good to see that e-infrastructure have a 'young' discussion area.
However, I think that some of the postings answer what I was trying to get at - there are some general (ie not specific to a particular technical area) issues which youngish engineers want to discuss or are looking for help on. Often the answers are on the IEE web-site, but may not be easy to find if you are not familiar with how the IEE is organised. A Young Network web-site area would signpost youngish engineers to the parts of the web-site which they are most interested in (how to get chartered - at the moment you have to burrow down through the membership part of the web-site to membership guides). It would also offer a discussion area on the general issues (of interest to engineers at University and in the the early stages of their career). It could even act as a source of feedback to the IEE on what youngish engineers are looking for out of the IEE.
So how young is young? Well, I think that it should be based more on stage in career rather than age, since some people come into electrical/IT/manufacturing engineering later than others - there are plenty of 30 something students around!
Any more thoughts on how useful this would be and what would be useful for this network to cover would be very much appreciated.
Now a confession - I am 37, but currently chair the 'Younger Members' Board' so that's why I'm interested!
As a 63 year old 'young' member, I see these discussion forums as a valuable means of getting help and helping in return. We need an easier front page for them (example JAVA forums at SUN) so that we can easily join in. Also, thinking <3clicks, that unified forum access should be linked directly from the IEE home page. Not buried in blue words on dark blue side bar on a PN page, where it takes you back to a not-PN specific page. Mike.
I was wondering if it may be possible to incorporate some sort of real time chat room into the PN's area. It may not be a feasible idea, however I personally find that if I want to expand my knowledge/get advice, a straight question and answer is not usually adequte. To be able to interact with other people and bounce ideas around usually helps me significantly. Obviously it may not work if there is no-one around, however if "small events" were set up within each group by individuals from time to time to discuss things I am sure that something of worth could come out of it. Its just an idea......thoughts anyone?
